Official "Destination X 2011" Discussion Thread *CONTAINS SPOILERS*

[Roode17]

I think this PPV could be the highest drawing of the year. The people who buy TNA PPV's are the guys who are passionate about wrestling. I would not have bought any of the last 6 PPV's but If I lived in America I would buy this one. And there will be people in America who were passionate about TNA in the earlier years that will buy this, people who want to see RVD vs Lynn one last time, good matches like Kazarian vs Joe and Styles vs Daniels. Card looks good, I think it could have been better and I cant wait to watch. Most anticpated TNA PPV for me probarly since Victory Road 09/BFG 09/Turning Point 09.

[ViceMan]

This is like last year's Hardcore Justice, in that most of the feuds played out on TV don't really get resolved or progressed as a result of the PPV. It's weird in a way.

[4 Gold Scorpio]

^^^This is like Hardcore Justice last year in that it's a "themed" PPV based around a special "one time only" concept with this year being the X division while last year was the ECW reunion so what TNA did on both cases was just do a "free PPV" episode of Impact where all the matches they would have normally had on the PPV would just be given away for free later in the week which they are doing in this case once again.

I'm thinking this will be one of their highest drawing "b-show" PPV's when compared to others like Genesis & Sacrifice & maybe even Victory Road or Against All Odds but the highest of the year...I doubt this will go past Lockdown or Bound For Glory.

[cenaviper]

TNA Wrestling has revealed that the Samoa Joe vs. Kazarian bout will be the match that opens tonight's "Destination X" pay-per-view event.

WZ

[Tnafan23]

wtf joe lost .

[John]

Destination X – The Good & The Bad

After something happening offline, I had to watch TNA Destination X 2011 today, along with Raw. I, along with the vast majority of others, went into this show with high hopes. As a fan of the X-Division style, I looked forward to seeing AJ Styles v Chris Daniels, RVD v Jerry Lynn and Kaz v Samoa Joe. Having had discussions with many other people, I found that I was like alot of TNA Fans. The fans who are sick of the Hogan-Bischoff-Russo era. I want to see true Wrestling, not a Re-Branding based on trying to promote Wrestling, but really it’s a facade by Russo and Hogan as they try to pull in new people. I, actually, had thoughts of not watching this show at all, as I didn’t want to feel like I’ve wasted my time on a show not dis-similar to the normal PPVs. You know the kinda show I’m talking about – The one with a Bischoff promo, an Eric Young match, and a main event featuring a dodgy referee moment.

Moments prior to the show, I grabbed my notepad and jotted a few pre-show comments. I, firstly, wrote that I wanted to see young talent go over and wanted to see the pushing of several true TNA Legends, such as AJ Styles and Samoa Joe (How unhappy I would be later). I, also, wrote a small note regarding the Six-Sided ring. I, for one, have never been one who has moaned and groaned at Hogan bringing in the traditional four-sided ring. I think that it actually improves the quality of matches. My thought is based on the fact that new wrestlers, who have just joined the company, will find it easier to wrestler in a ring that is familiar to them, rather than learn how to wrestle in a six-sided ring, thus improving the wrestlers confidence and want to do things that will astonish the viewers. As the PPV began, I saw the commentary pairing of Mike Tenay and Jeremy Borash. Although I wanted to give them a chance, I dislike the idea of two play-by-play guys and would soon come to find that the pair were stepping on each others toes. With both of them wanting to count the pinfalls, it became awkward. I would like to see Jeremy Borash team up with Taz for an episode of iMPACT Wrestling, and see how they go on. Mike Tenay seems like he’s only there because some one in the back likes how he can string a sentence along, even though he lacks passion and enthusiasm. Towards the end of the show, he sounded so half-arsed, even when he was counting the pinfalls, he sounded like a dreary old man who should be in bed.

The first match on this show consisted of the under-pushed Samoa Joe, taking on Kazarian. This match had received a lack of build-up, and had been pushed to the fans almost as much as Joe has been in the past year. I have been a major fan of Samoa Joe, mainly as I began watching TNA during the days when he was having his Undefeated streak, and he was the guy who “WAS GONNA KILL YOU!” and was the Monster, unparalleled by no-one. Joe still remains the only person who has had a winning streak for over a year, yet TNA decide to put him on the back burner and decided to cast him aside. I, like many people in the arena, wanted Joe to win. What seemed, to me, like a sure thing, Joe dominated and showed off his power and strength. With my hope that Joe would win, I continued to watch as this match slowly and gradually built to its conclusion. Joe even put a STFU on Kaz, to my humour; If only TNA were pushing Joe like Cena. Personally, I would have booked this match to end with Kaz tapping out to Samoa Joe, or Kaz just losing conscientiousness. The way that Joe lost on this show was a massive indication to me that, TNA is still just TNA. Russo and Hogan seem to hold petty grudges, possibly stemming back from when Joe had an argument with them regarding their own stupidity. It’s a shame that Joe has signed a contract with TNA for the next few years, because I don’t see him winning in the future at all, especially considering how they made him look like an idiot for being rolled up after a competitive match. Joe sat in the ring and looked very annoyed, and how he should be annoyed with TNA! The lack of a colour commentator was shown here, when no-one hyped that Kaz took advantage of a silly mistake from Joe – They just quickly moved on to AJ Styles v Chris Daniels. I liked the match, as it featured some good quality Wrestling, but I disliked the finish strongly and hated the ending. That was the first time that I began pulling my hair out.

The appearance of Mark Haskins made my day, as I’ve been a fan of him for a few years now. For those who don’t know him, and it seemed like a lot from the audience in Orlando, he is an experienced veteran on the Indy scene in the UK, and has also appeared on many PWG/DG USA shows. This was the first time that he had branched out into one of the big three companies, and I think he ruined his chances. My heart missed a beat when he fell off the top rope, leading to fans booing and chanting “Who are you?”. Strangely, and you can still see this, iMPACTWrestling.com seemed to be promoting that Magnus would be challenging Douglas Willians. If you go onto the website, you’ll see the graphic for the Williams invitational bout and you can see a silhouette of a man, who looks exactly like Magnus does in his image. Anyway, this performance by Mark Haskins was totally forgettable, which was a shame. After a lot of hype by Tenay and Borash, I felt like fans couldn’t see why he, out of all people, had to challenge Williams. I know what he is capable of doing, but I thought that he came off as though he didn’t live up to the hype. A true shame.

In a moment that made me recognize that this is just an ordinary TNA PPV – Eric Young, with that stupid Belt, paraded through a bunch of fans, only applauding because the camera was turned on. He then met Sangriento, Curry Man and Suicide. A funny note is that all three of them had been reported as being canned by TNA, but they appeared to be taking autographs – From behind a metal bar that obstructed the fans from getting to them. Stone Cold Shark Boy returned, to my applaud. I don’t mind Shark Boy in small doses, but this was a time where I felt his comedy and humour was lost. The match was completely lame, and I can see why The Bucks requested their release. Waking up today, I saw that the Bucks had been released from TNA Wrestling – I’m not surprised that they were frustrated. They deserved so much better than this filler match, as a pair of jobbers, on an all-X Division PPV. TNA should have placed them in the Ultimate X Match.

The way that I would have sorted this PPV out seems completely different from what TNA actually did. I think they should have given the Ultimate X to the four wrestlers who hoped to gain a contract, and they should have had a four-way match between Shelley, Moore, Red and Robbie E. I think it would have added drama to the Contract bout, and would have took the, what seemed quite pointless, Ultimate X structure out of this contest. Towards the end, Shannon Moore climbed to the top of the structure, God-only-know’s-why. It seemed ever-so more pointless when he dropped down and was pulled off the Ultimate X, causing him to lose. I think we all wanted Shelley to win this match, and we all got our wish. At this point in the show, I jotted down how I thought Abyss was retaining, leading to a Abyss v Shelley match at HardCORE Justice. How wrong was I?

RVD taking on Jerry Lynn came next. This match caused a lot of people to purchase the show – Did it live up to expectations? In my opinion, Lynn lived up to what I expected.. But I still dislike RVD strongly. He sold great, but I just hate the guy. He comes off to me as a guy who really just doesn’t care anymore. He just seems as though he is just there to fight, then go home to do something else. He seems to not be putting TNA first, and it really shows. This was, by far, not the greatest match of the night, but I did enjoy the match.

The Match of the Night followed: Low Ki vs Austin Aries vs Zema Ion vs Jack Evans. With the crowd chanting “Sign them all”, I strongly agreed. These four put on a bout that was enjoyable, fun, interesting and had you on the edge of your seat. The bout was action-packed, and really made me want to see them all again. Ion was the one guy who I didn’t really think had a chance, prior to the match, but even he came off as a star. I really, badly, wanted to see the 630 and was upset when he was yanked off the apron, only for him to do it again a moment later, but Low-Ki (I think it was Low-Ki) got his legs up, causing him some a considerate amount of pain. With SoCal Val handing Aries the contract, I look forward to seeing Aries on iMPACT Wrestling. Personally, I want to see all four on the show in future, and definitely want to see more from Jack Evans. This match was the bout of the show, and I enjoyed it more because it broke the mould of the Typical TNA PPV Match, consisting of someone interfering, the Referee being knocked down and a false finish – This match had none of that, and was deeply enjoying. The audience are a massive help, in terms of whether you’re enjoying, and whether you’re into, a match. The fans were on their feet for the entire duration of the bout, helping me join along with the match.

All the feeling that I had about TNA changing were all altered in the next match – Brian Kendrick vs Abyss. I hated this match, I really did. With a really irritating challenger for Abyss’ championship, I didn’t go into this match hoping that Kendrick would win. This match had: A Ref bump, a massive (Un-Needed) Brawl where Immortal were shown as guys who needed 1000 men to throw them out (but they could handle about 10 X Division wrestlers) and a moment where Bischoff walked to the ring and began arguing with Kendrick. All of this was unneeded, as it should have had a simple ending – With Kendrick tricking the Giant, and gaining the pinfall. We really didn’t need the mass-brawl, the ref bump or the involvement of Bischoff. In typical TNA-fashion, a load of confetti fell from the ceiling as Abyss, the Giant, was pinned. You can say that I think into things too much, but what would have happened if Kendrick had not have won – Would they have thrown the confetti all over Abyss and Immortal?

Telling the truth, I really wasn’t in the mood for the main event. After sitting through a handful of bad decisions by TNA, I was ready for Immortal to run down and attack Daniels and AJ, holding their hands high as the PPV goes off the air. What was a very epic match, was partially wasted on me. I wasn’t in the mood for another 30 minutes spot-fest, after seeing so many on this show, but I enjoyed the match, although I did not enjoy it as much as I could have. I liked the way it ended; AJ winning was a nice touch, and the handshake was a nice touch, despite my opinion that Daniels would turn on Styles. I based this thought off the way that Daniels had behaved on the past few iMPACT Wrestling shows. Looking back, I’m glad that he didn’t turn on AJ. I thought that the entire Handshake deal was great, because, in ROH, Daniels never shakes anyones hand, unless he truly respects them – It was a nice touch for those who follow both shows.

Overall, I liked the wrestling, but it is another case of TNA showcasing their belief that fans want to see silly comedy like Eric Young, ref bumps and Eric Bischoff walking to the ring. Prior to the show, people said that they believed Russo, Bischoff and Hogan had tried to stop people from buying this show, by barely hyping this show. I understand the reasoning behind this theory, as, if Destination X receives more Buys than a normal PPV, Hogan and Bischoff will be forced to admit that people would rather see this style, as opposed to the usual TNA style. TNA definitely gave us enough to tune back in, if this was the first time you’ve ever bought their PPVs. I did enjoy the majority of the show, so it gets a Thumbs Up from me, but a few “TNA Moments” crept in, and I would have rather not have had them happened.

I went into this show wanting to see several things: Good wrestling (Which I got), TNA Pushing guys like Joe, AJ and Evans (Partly got), and I wanted to see less of the TNA- style (I got this for the majority of the show), but I was shown that TNA hasn’t changed; they’re still not totally focused on the wrestling, but are focused on the storylines and the ridiculous angles. After this show, I was left satisfied, but, after the dust settled, I realised that this PPV was a one-off, and that TNA was returning this Thursday with another normal show, featuring the same confusing angles and same annoyances that we all hate on a weekly basis. Thanks TNA, for a memorable show. It’s just a shame that you’re not changing any time soon.

[TheManRicFlair]

good PPV, i was little bit drunk when watched so i can not remember all what happened. My friend said it was best ever.